Hadash chairman Ayman Odeh on Friday commented on the split within the Joint List Party, after Balad decided at the last minute it would run separately from Hadash and Ahmed Tibi’s Ta’al Party.
Speaking to Channel 12 News, Odeh did not rule out a possible cooperation with Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz after the election.
Odeh said that he wanted an alliance "as broad as possible" among the Arab parties, but Balad refused to sign the agreement on a joint run, so Ta'al and Hadash submitted their slate separately from Balad.
He added he believes that Hadash-Ta'al, which won six seats only three years ago, will reach the same number in the current round as well.
On the claim that the split in the Joint List brings Benjamin Netanyahu closer to victory since it would likely result in a lower voter turnout within the Arab population, Odeh responded that "the Arab population knows how to distinguish between the essential and the bland", adding that the voter turnout among Arabs will not be as low as some predict.
"Our population is extremely responsible, they don't want Ben Gvir and Smotrich to be ministers," said the chairman of Hadash. "We will go out and vote, our population knows very well that we can decide, so we will do so."
Odeh also hinted that the split from Balad, which is considered the hawkish element among the three parties that made up the Joint List, paves the way for cooperation with Lapid and Gantz. While he said it is too early to say whether Hadash-Ta’al will recommend one of the two for Prime Minister after the election or if they will support a government led by them without joining it, he said, "First and foremost, we will know how to be decisive."
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)